Book-mark.



No. 797,386. PATENTED AUG.15, 1905. G. L VAN BUREN.

BOOK MARK.

APPLICATION FILED mm 22, 1904.

CllclplerV Lillez i- STATES GEORGE L.

PATENT onrion.

lEBOCDK-"WIAHKM are. 79?,386.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.,

Application filed June 22, 1904. Serial No. 213,611.

To all 1071 0712 it natty concern: I

Be it known that I, Gnonen L. VAN BUREN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Book-Marks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to what are commonly known as bookmarks, which in various forms are employed to facilitate reference to a particular page of a book, pamphlet, magazinc, or the like.

The objects of this invention are to provide a device of this character having a much wider range of usefulness of a permanent nature, easily applied to and removed from a volume, and hence transferred from one volume to another, which may be employed to facilitate reference consecutively to a number of pages in the same book or volume, which may, if desired, be made to index the references while the book is closed, which is non-interferent with ordinary use of the book while applied thereto, which is simple of construction, cheap in cost, easy of operation, not likely to become disarrangcd and result in loss of one or more references, and in which is utilized separable and interchangeable pageindicators whereby the capacity of the device may be made to correspond with the number of pages to which it is desired to refer in a single volume.

Vlith the above and other ends in View the invention consists in the novel construction and configuration of the device and in the arrangement and combinations of parts, all as hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims.

.ll ly invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a device embodying my invention in its preferred form, showing the manner of its application. Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly broken away, of the preferred form of the device itself. 3 is a plan view showing a modification of the retaining or supporting bar. Fig. tis a view of the retaining-bar shown in Fig. 2 with a simple form of lower pivotal support. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view of the device, illustrating the manner in which titles or the nature of the reference may be indicated. Fig.

(3 is an end view of one of the pivoted markers. Fig. 7 is a sectional detail of the cardholding means.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and first to the form of device illustrated in 1 and 2, numeral 2 refers to a rod or bar, preferably of spring-steel, which is sub stantially cylindrical at its extremities, having been flattened at its middle portion for a sufficient length to provide for its insertion between the pages of a book or the like near the bound edges of said pages with the least possible interference with the complete closure of the book. In the preferred construction the projecting extremity l of this rod, which for convenience I refer to as at the lower end thereof, is bent upon itself to provide the returning portion t. When properly adjusted, as shown in Fig. l, the cylindrical extremities 3 and 4: thereof project for a certain distance, preferably, as hereinafter specified, above and below, respectively, the upper and lower edges of the pages or book. These cylindrical extremities 3 and 4t are designed to provide pivotal supports for a frame having a pair of arms 5 and 6, the arm 5 having an aperture 7 for the pivotal support 3 and the arm 6 being similarly apertured for the pivotal support 4:. These arms carry, substantially parallel to and at a distance from the rod 2, preferably equal to about one-half of the width of an ordinary page, the iireferably thin flat strip or frame portion 8, the length of which should for best results be somewhat greater than the height of the book to which the device may be applied.

1 have shown the returning extremity 1-. of the rod 2 provided with the slight lateral bend 9 at the extremity thereof, and the distance between the bend 9 and the upper extremity of the rod 2 should be slightly greater than the distance between the arms 5 and 6. The arms 5 and 6 and the strip 8, (which may be either integral therewith or suitably secured thereto,) being preferably of springstcel or other elastic metal, may be easily sprung apart to permit of their respective pivotal connection with the extensions 3 and 4t. When mounted, the normal positions of said arms and the bond 9 at the extremity of the extension at prevent their dislodgment in ordinarily careful use, lca\"ing them subject, however, to easy removal when desired. With this form of device i prefer to employ a rubber band 11 or looped thread or twine slipped over each extremity of the rod 2 to hold said rod with reasonable security in proper position near What may be termed the pivotal line of the book. This rod 2 is of course designed merely to provide pivotal supports for the arms 5 and 6, and there are various ways in which such supports may be held in proper operative position. For instance, 1 have shown in Fig. 3 a spring-rod 10, bent substantially parallel to itself at each extremity, which is flattened to parallel the planes of the pages. The elasticity of this rod 10 enables the returning portions 12 and 12 to be easily spread apart and inserted at opposite ends of the book between pages at substantially the middle thereof. Projecting members 13 and 14: may be secured in any suitable manner to the inwardly-bent extremities 12 and 12 of said rod to similarly provide pivotal supports for the arms 5 and 6.

It will be apparent that either form of device may be provided with simple projections 13 and 1 1, as shown in Fig. 3, or 13 and 14, as shown in Fig. at, to provide pivotal supports instead of having one thereof provided with a returning extension a, as shown in Fig. 2, the length of the projection preventing accidental dislodgment of the arms. Attention is also called to the fact that the bend 9, shown at the extremity of the member I, would be equally effective at the extremity of the upper projection 3. It will be appar ent, furthermore, that the pivoted markers. which comprise the strip 7 and its supporting-arn1s, may be provided in many ways with means for indicating the number of the page to which each is designed to facilitate reference or other memoranda, title, or the like. A simple manner of carrying out this idea is illustrated in Fig. 5, wherein oppositelypointing lugs 15 and 16 are shown stamped up from the strip 7, adapted to engage and retain a card 17, hearing suitable words, numerals, or other characters. This card may be easily removed and replaced at any time. In operating my device the supportingrod 2 (or the inbent extremities 12 and 12 of the spring-rod 10') is first inserted between the pages of the book, at substantially the middle thereof and as near the bound edges of said pages as is permitted by the binding. If the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is employed, a rubber band, a piece of twine, or similar means may be employed to keep the rod in place. hen it is desired to mark a certain page for future reference, one of the markers proper is taken and the aperture in the arm 6 thereof over the bend 9 and upon the portion 4: of the rod 2. The bend 9 re taining the arm 6 in place, the arm 5 is then sprung over the projection 3. The marker is then in place and no further attention need be paid thereto. hen another page is reached to which it is desired to subsequently refer, another marker is mounted upon the rod in a precisely similar manner, an operation which is repeated until all references have been marked in this manner, when the book may be closed. All of the markers should then be pushed to their uppermostpositions on the rod 2. Each page desired may then be readily referred to consecutively by first pushing down to its lowermost position the marker nearest the party using the book, at which time the book and device will have the appearance indicated in Fig. 1. As each subsequent page is desired the nearest raised marker is pushed down, so that at any time the book may be closed and laid to one side and still indicate which pages have been referred to and which yet remain for reference.

Many modifications of minor details of my improved book-mark will doubtless readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art to which it appertains, and I therefore do not desire to limit my invention to the specific construction herein shown and described.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a book-mark, the combination of a pair of pivot-rods, means for removably se curing said rods to a bound volume to form substantially continuations of the rotary axis of the leaves of said volume, and a frame rotatable on said pivots, said frame being elastically yielding and removable from said pivots by springing the connecting portions thereof.

2. In a book-mark, the combination, with a support flattened to conveniently interpose contiguous leaves of a bound volume and having an elongated pivot projecting from each end thereof, of a frame having elasticallyyielding connection with said pivots and rotatable thereon, said frame being removable from said pivots by springing the connecting portions thereof.

3. In a book-mark, the combination of a pair of pivot-rods, means for removably securing the same to a bound volume to form substantially continuations of the rotary axis of the leaves of said volume, a member having arms loosely mounted on said rods, and means for retaining said member on said rods without preventing removal by springing said arms.

4.. In a book-mark, the combination of a pair of pivot-rods, means for removably securing the same to a bound volume to form substantially continuations of the rotary axis of the leaves of said volume, a member having arms mounted on said rods and having rctary and limited longitudinal movement thereon, and means for retaining said member on said rods without preventing removal by springing said arms.

5. In a book-mark, the combination, with a support and means for removably securing said support to a bound volume with a portion of said support interposing contiguous leaves of said volume and said interposed portion being flattened to be non-interferent with In testimony of the foregoing I have here complete closure, of a frame having both pivunto set my hand in the presence of two witotal and llongitudinal niovemenlt oln said supci nesses.

)ort saic frame having a simi ar y-flattene a a 3 1 hortion to interpose contiguous leaves of said (IhOhGli V1 KN BURILN volume, and means for retaining said frame ivitnesses:

upon said support Without preventing re- JUSTIN D. Bownnsoou,

moval by springing said frame. JAMES W. S. PETERS. 

